After trying the excellent the 40 year old, a lot of people told me that the 21 year old sherry version is excellent as well. So, finally, here we are!
1.3 (Russet muscat)
Nose
Did not expect it all all, but here's a lot of brine. Salty grapefruits. Not-yet-ripe bananas.
Palate
Powerful and punchy. Lots of taste. It has a little bit of everything - spice, a chunk of fruit and still some of that grapefruit bitterness. Sweet, but carefully so.
Finish
Dry, citric with a tiny and an insinuation towards smoke, or perhaps a charred kind of wood spice. Very small. The woody and slightly peppery notes come up front in the finish which sticks around for a while.
This was a surprising review, and I suspect that I expected more typical sherry notes. We get the spicy/dry type of sherry influence versus the more common cooked fruits. If I'd had to guess, I would say that this has been matured mainly using fino type sherries rather than Oloroso or PX. The verdict? Nice and as lively as the big 40 year old sibling, but it lacks some middle range and oomph. A bit more depth and fruit would have been amazing, but it's both tasty and fun. I would disagree with the fine people holding this almost as dear as the 40 though, I'd say that it's not even close to that level.
Score
85 / 100
0-50 Subpar
51-60 Drinkable
61-70 Decent
71-80 Good
81-90 Great
91-100 Fantastic
Image used with permission from www.scotchwhiskyauctions.com
| Bottler | Douglas Laing |
|---|---|
| Bottling Range | Timorous Beastie |
| Abv (%) | 46.8 |
| Age | 21 |
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